This invention relates to an electrically conductive plastics or plastic complex material that is used as an electrode in an electrolytic solution and undergoes lesser deterioration therein with lapse of time.
The plastic complex materials used in electrolytes (electrolytic solutions) tend to be affected by materials produced upon electrolysis and thus undergo certain chemical degradation. This tendency is most outstanding especially in cases wherein the substances produced upon electrolysis are halogen group elements such as chlorine or bromine.
The term electrolytic solution as used in the present specification is intended to mean the electrolyte used in storage battery as well as electrolyte for dry battery or electroplating accompanying electrochemical reactions. It is an aqueous solution of compounds of a halogen group element selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br and I with at least one alkali or alkali earth metals such as Li, Be, Na, Mg, K, Ca, Rb, Sr, Cs or Ba in addition to metals such as Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Cr, Sn, Pb, Pt, Hg, Cd, Ag or Pd.
The inventive materials may also be used with electrolytes from which strong acid groups, substances that extract hydrogen from hydrocarbons in the plastic complex material, strongly reductive agents, or compounds such as strong alkali that may act as hydrolytic agent, such as O, O.sub.2, O.sub.3, S, SO.sub.2, SO.sub.3, SO.sub.4, ClO.sub.3, CrO.sub.3, OH, O.sub.2 H or MnO.sub.3 are produced upon decomposition of the electrolytes.
In general, when dipped in these electrolytes or exposed in chlorine or bromine liquids for accelerated degradative tests, the plastic complex material may become swollen in a short period and broken up into pieces which is extremely undesirable from the standpoint of dimensional stability and mechanical strength.
This means that the plastic complex material is subject to molecular cleavage or disruption when acted on by electrolytic products such as chlorine or bromine thus leading finally to failure of the material.